Drilling and oil-well apparatus



R. R POLLAK.

DRILLING AND OIL WELL APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILEDNOV. 14, 1914. RENEWED JAN. 26. 1920.

1,347,587; Patented July 27, 1920.

5 SHEETS-SHEET I.

INVENTOR, 9555. 77 R- pflLLA/f By m M ATTORNEY WITNESSES 4 R. R. POLLAK.

DRILLING AND OIL WELL APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 14, 1914 RENEWED JAN.26,1920.

INVENTOR, ROBERT R. FULLAK WITNESSES A TTORNE Y Patented July 27, 1920.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

R. R. POLLAK. DRILLING AND OIL WELL APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED NOV- 14. I914- RENEWED JAN. 26, 1920. 1,347,587.

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R. R. POLLAK.

DRILLING AND OIL WELL APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV- 14. 1914. RENEWED IAN.26,1920.

0 hm w 2 o VA 9 T? wE 1T Q. V 0,- N I mm Q v NT I 7 yT I h T m .L A u M M 5 w 4 AM k n m m P WITNESSES.-

R. R. POLLAK.

DRILLING AND OIL WELL APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 14. I914. RENEWED 1AN.26, 1920.

1,347,587, 4 Patented July 27, 1920.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

INVENTOR, WITN R036??? R. PDLLAA' 4% BYM in. M

3/ M ATTORNEY.'

UNITED STATES ROBERT R. POLLAK, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

DRILLING AND OIL-WELL AIPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 14, 1914, Serial No. 872,126. Renewed January 26, 1920. Serial No. 354,252.

To all whom it may concern Beit known that'I, ROBERT R. PoLLAK, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California,have invented new and useful Improvements in Drilling and Oilell Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to an apparatus which will enable the operatlons of screwing together couplings or joints of tubing or casing as they are lowered into a well, or of unscrewing them as they are taken out, to be performed more easily and rapidly than heretofore. i

The following is the present method of screwing together joints of pipe. The string. of easing already in the hole is gripped tight in a heavy spider and grips on,the cellar or derrick floor, or wherever it is hung on the links of the casing hanger. T he free joint, which is suspended from the elevator, is first revolved until its lower end butt is placed in position in thereceiving collar of the coupling already screwed into the string of casing- This is done by a helper, who usually stands in position on the top of the shed at the end of the walking beam in order to manipulate the ele vator. When the threads of the butt end of the free joint enter properly the collar of the coupling, the joint is first revolved and screwed in by hand, care being taken that the threads are screwed straight. They are then screwed in by tongs or a casing pole placed. around the joint and held by two, three,four or even more men to rotate the joint. When their muscular efforts are unable to revolve thejoint any more, improvised tongs are secured to the joint and caused to revolve a portion of 'a revolution by means of a jerk line attached to a crank shaft until the joint is securely screwed 'in place, whereupon the attachments are released. Upon disengaging a tightjoint, the operation takes place in the reverse. order.

" shaft to tighten and complete the screwing together. of thejoints. In standard tool practice for making up lengths of easing until the bottom of the well is reached, it is customary to use as many as six men on the job, while in rotary tool practice there must always be available five men.

The object of the present invention is to provide apparatus Which'will enable quick and safe work to be done in coupling joints and save greatly in the amount of labor required, thus greatly decreasing the cost of drilling.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure l is a plan view of the apparatus, certain parts being shown diagrammatically; Fig. 2 is a similar vertical section thereof; Fig. 3 is an enlarged broken side view of a portion thereof; Fig. i is a broken plan view of the same; Fig. 5 is a detail plan view on a still larger scale of a roller base, a gear plate being removed; Fig. 6 is a detail plan view .of a gear plate with a segment removed; Fig. 7 is a plan view of said segment.

Referring to the drawing, l-indicates a carriage frame for carrying my improved making-up table 2 and provided with a Patented July 27, 1920.

flanged base 3, the ends of which are supported on bearings 4: for axles 6, supported upon wheels 7 which travel in channels 8, forming a runway. At one end of said runway are bolts 9 which can drop into grooves 10 in the carriage and lockthe carriage, so that the table 2 is in the proper position for working over the hole that is to be drilled. A header 11, guided between the vertically extending sides 12 of'said carrings, is secured to a chain 13 passing around a pulley 1 L carrying at its other end a counterweight 16, said pulley being supported on a shaft 17 rotatably mounted at the top of the carriage. Said header is raised and lowered by means of a worm shaft 18 screwed through a threaded portionof the head. Secured at one side only by bolts to, or made a part of, the head is a bracket 19, and, attached to said bracket 19 by bolts 21 from the under side, is a roller base 22 (see Fig.5). Formed in the upper surface of said roller base are recesses in which are contained rollers 23, which are given proper bearings and lubrication by split bushings 24c. Said roller base is annular in form and normally surrounds the casing 26. To permit said roller base to be moved with the carriage from around said casing, said base is formed with a swinging block 27, hinged thereto at 28 and having a handle 29 by which it can be turned on its hinge and locked in position. Attached to the roller base are hooked lugs 31, which engage a flange 32, extending from the lower side of the gear plate 33, which revolves easily and smoothly on the base rollers 23, there being formed in the under side of the gear plate an annular groove 34 to engage said rollers.

To allow also of removing the gear plate from its normal position over the hole withoutdisturbing the casing 26, said gear plate has a removable segment 36, said segment being formed at its ends with dove-tailed lugs 37, which fit in correspondingly shaped recesses 38 in the ends of the gear plate. Additionally to secure and lock the segment in its correct position there are provided hooks 39 pivotally secured on the gear plate, and which engage locking devices ll on the segment. Said plate is made annular to surround the casing, and its inner surface is formed with dove-tailed grooves 42 to receive flaring slips 43, which can slide down the corresponding grooves 1-2. The purpose of these slips is to hold tight the gripping mechanism which grips the joint 23 of the casing which is to be secured to, and detached from, the string of casing 35 below.

Tlhe gear plate is rotated by a pinion at, which is held in position between sleeves L6 rotating in upper and lower bearing boxes 47, which are attached to the header 11 and by a vertical shaft as passing through a bearing box 49 suspended from the carriage,

Said shaft has a spline 51, which receives keys in the pinion and sleeves, so that said bearing boxes, sleeves, and pinion can move longitudinally on said shaft l8 while yet the pinion and sleeves are rotated with aid shaft and the shaft thus imparts rotation to the gear plate. To the lower end of said shaft is secured a bevel gear 52 which meshes with-abevel gear 53 loose on a horizontal shaft 5% which rotates in bearings 56 suspended from the carriage.

Said shaft loosely carries hlgh and low speed bevel gears 61, which mesh with bevel gears 57, 58, on the worm shaft 18.

fl hus, with the assistance of friction clutches 62, 63, 64ron the shaft 54, and controlled by 7 hand levers (36 of the ad ustable ratchet type,

said shafted may be used to rotate, or to move vertically, the-gear 7 plate.

The shaft 5% is connected by a universal joint 67 with a shaft (38 which can rotatein, and slide through, bearings 69, suspended midway from bars 7l-bolted' across the chan nels of the runway. Between said bearings there is mounted on said shaft so as to rotate therewith a sprocket wheel 72, rotated by a light chain 7 3 from a sprocket wheel 74L on an intermediate shaft 78 properly fitted with bearings 76 attached to the ground floor frame work trolled in any suitable manner, preferably I from the vicinity of the head-ache post. The ack shaft 83, carefully and securely centered in ample bearing boxes on rigid bases, is driven by a heavy sprocket wheel 7 87, chain 88, and jaw clutch 89 and sprocket wheel 91 from a band wheel shaft 2 operated by a belt from the engine or other source of power. The band wheel shaft is centered in boxes 93 as is the present practice, and carries a crank arm r The table when idle is usually at the far side of the derrick floor, being shoved along the runway 8 a distance of five or six feet from the hole. Thus a portion of the driving shaft 68 slides through the boxes 69, all the transmission means, including the shafts 54, 6S, sprocket drive 78, and intermediate shaft 78, being placed in box trenches and covered under the floor to protect them from clogging nuisances. The clutch 86 is thrown oil the sprocket wheel 8%, and therefore the source driving power is withdrawn from the table so that its transmission apparatus is at rest. Theremovable segment is outside the gear plate and the movable block of the roller base is drawn out, the casing grips having been already taken out.

To bring the table into action, thecarriage is moved into position and locked in place by the bolts 9, and, if an upper joint of the casing is to be unscrewed from the collar 30 attaching it to the lower string of casing 85, the bracket 19 having already been brought up around said joint, the roller base block is now brought into its closed position by the handle 29, the removable segment 36 of the gear plate is placed in position and is locked by the hooks 39 and locking devices 41. If the gear plate is too far from the part of the joint that is to be gripped, the clutch is disengaged from the bevel gear 53 operating the pinion shaft 51 and also from the low speed gear (31, and the clutchuof the high speed gear 59 is engaged to allow of rapid motion, and the headeris raised or lowered into the proper position. Then the clutch of the high speed gear is disengaged and the other clutches are on gaged and bring into operation the low speed gear and the gear pinion shaft. The grips 36 are then placed in position, thus gripping the oint 25. All being now ready the driller moves the clutch S6 to engage the sprocket wheel 8%, transmitting power from the jack shaft, and the low speed gear then causes the head to rise uniformly with'the unscrewing of the joint 25 from the collar 30. The reverse procedure is carried out trolled at different points wherever clutches and levers are provided,- at the will of the driller, although, owing to the threads freezing, itmay be necessary to start the unscrewing of the joints by means of a jerk line from the crank arm 94, which is avail.

able when the clutch 62 on the gear shaft 54 is disengaged, after which the jerk line is disconnected, the clutch 62 is again engaged and the work resumed.

It will be obvious that the diameters of gears must be carefully calculated to provide accurate fit of the head as the joint is screwed into or unscrewed from the collar, but the stripping of the teeth, both of the bevel, spur and work gears, is, in any case, avoided by the use of friction clutches, so calibrated as to allow of slipping when pressure becomes excessive.

During the operation of screwing in a joint, anew method of transmission, hereinafter described, provides for rapid and accurate control of either the calf-line or the rotary hoist line, so that, as the joint of easing or of drill pipe is lowered, its bottom end is caused to enter the recess in the collar into which the oint is to be screwed, sothat the threads engage in proper alinement and screw truly, and also the joint is prevented from impacting with the collar threads so as to smash or strip the threads.

The use of the swinging platform illustrated and described in my copending ap plication, filed May 18, 1914, Serial No. 839,268, Patent No. 1,244,240, Oct. 23, 1917, permits of better control and accurate alinement of the threads, before the joint is ready to be gripped by the gripping mechanism preparatory to screwing up said joint.

'By means of the over-hanging bracket the making-up table is moved over the usual rotary table, as required to secure or loosen drill pipes, couplings and the like, thus dispensing with the necessity of employing a large number of assistants as compared with those employed with standard tool drilling, the driller and his helper being the only men required since the driller attends. to all the adjustments, while the helper attends to the floor spider and slips, and manipulations of the elevator.

The saving in labor thus effected is considerable, to say nothing of the rapid mani aulation of the making-up table.

he making-up table is a very effective implement in combination rotary and standard drilling, as well as in causing the drilling in all its phases to be under perfect control of the driller.

To dispense with the present bull rope, which is'continually in the way of operat-ions on the derrick floor, and a continual source of danger, mishaps and delay, a substitutejhas been devised with all the advantages of slip attendant upon the use of such rops. My improved bull rope, of manila or wire, derives its power from a tug wheel 101 placed on the side of the band wheel 102. As many grooves are provided therein as are required to give the neces sary gripping action and the necessarypower for driving the bull wheel. As it is desired to carry the rope under the floor to permit clearance on the derrick floor and freedom of operation thereon, a trench is dug under the floor, a boX is provided and idlers 104, 106, properly supported in box bearings 110 attached to the foundation of the floor, are provided to bring the rope under the floor. Idlers 107 are provided to direct the rope around the bull wheel tug 108, placed at the side of the bull wheel 117. The idlers 104, 106 and 107 are made of sufficient diameter to allow easy turning and avoid unnecessary slipping. They are supported properly to aline the'rope at the proper depths, and yet allow the idlers to revolve easily, so that no excessive slipping occurs, the required slipping being obtained by the use of a tension carriage wheel 109, around which is wound one loop 105, which, if placed on the bull wheel tug 108, would make the number of loops thereon the same as that on the band wheel tug 102.

The tension carriage wheel 109 regulates the tension or slack of the rope, which is obtained by a counterweight 111 suspended by a rope 112 around a pulley 113 and at tached to the carriage 114 of the tension wheel, causing said carriage to travel along a runway 116. The bull wheel tug 108 is attached to the bull wheel 117 by a split friction clutch 118, which can be adjusted to give any required degree of gripping or slipping. This friction clutch 118 is controlled from the headache post, as is also the bull wheel brake,'so that the driller is in complete control of both the bull wheel and the bull rope, whereas up to now the driller has usually attended to the brake at the bull wheel and manipulated the lever which shoves off the bull rope from the wheel, while the helper has attended to the steam control.

Advantages of this system are that any desired number of grooves may be used, while only one continuous rope is required, which rope is not subjected to a greatly varying strain, does not, if carefully spliced, abrade or wear out, remains under the floor continually under uniform tension, and is always ready. Furthermore, its slipping is always regulated, so that, whenever the string of tools in the hole is pulled and sticks, the driller will immediately be warned, and can raise the tools by increasing the counterweights 111 and tightening the screws on the split friction clutch 11 To allow of working both rotary and standard systems hand in hand, the calf line shaft120, and the rotary hoist shaft 119, while axially in line with each other, are in dependent, so that breakage of either does not affect the other. Said shafts 119 and 120 are driven by sprocket chains 121, 122 controlled by clutches 123, 124: from sprocket wheels 126, 127 on the jack shaft 83. The

diameters of the sprocket wheels 121, 122

the difficulty of transmission. To take up the slack, and to better control the speed of the chain, a take-up mechanism is pro vided. This take-up mechanism is attached to the side frame-work of the derrick and comprises a wheel 133, over which the sprocket chain 129 passes, said wheel being mounted in bearings in the free ends of hanger arms 13 1 suspended, as shown at 136, from the derrick frame, and raised by means of a threaded link 187 which passes through a guide 138 and is screwed through a hand wheel 139.

The rotary table is fitted with iron bars 145 on the under side of its foundation, While skid iron bars 140 are laid on the floor ofthederrick, for the purpose of permitting the easy movement and adjustment of the rotary table into the correct position over the hole, this being permissible by reason of the old style of bull rope being now dispensed with.

An example may now be given of the method of combination drilling which can be carried out by the new plan of transmission, thenew bull rope, and the new constructionof making-up table.

The rotary table having been moved into position over the hole, the making-up table is brought into use as required, power being obtained from the jack shaft. Supposing now that it is required to use standard tools, the rotary table is shoved off while the string of easing, if not landed at any particular point, hangs freely on easing hangers suspended by a line from the calf-line shaft. The string of standard tools is now brought into use, and, after it has performed the necessary operations, it is raised by the improved bull rope transmission.

When it is necessary to use the rotary table to pass through certain formations, as cavy guide toward determination of the proper place where to land the casing, the rotary table is called into use, and with the use of water circulation, and a drill pipe and abrasive bit smaller than the inside diameter of the casing suspended from the casing hanger, a deeper hole is obtained, the drill pipebeing fed and let down from the rotary hoist shaft, after which it is taken out; while, if the hole is large enough, the casing follows it, or, if too small, the hole is underreamed, and thereby the casing is caused to follow.

By reason of all clutches, brakes and power being controlled by levers at the headache post the driller has perfect control of all phases of drilling.

Since my invention has been devised primarily for an oil well drilling apparatus, I have, for the sake of brevity and simplicity, s0 spoken of it in the claims. But it is to be understood that the claims are not thereby to be limited in this respect, but are equally applicable to any kind of bore well, whether made for oil, water, gas, sulfur or for any other well in which a lining or tubing is placed in the well, and the claims are to be read in this sense.

I claim 1. In combination a runway, a carriage thereon, a header vertically movable on said carriage, a bracket secured at one side only to the header, a roller base carried by said bracket, and a portable casing table carried by said roller base.

2. In combination a runway, a carriage thereon, a roller base carried by said carriage, and a gear plate revolving on the rollers of said base and having a removable segment.

3. In combination a runway, a carriage thereon, a roller base carried by said carriage, and a gear plate revolving on the rollers of said base and having a removable segment,said plate and segment having, the one dove-tailed lugs, and the'other recesses to receive said lugs.

4. In combination a runway, a carriage thereon, a roller base carried by said car riage, a gear plate revolving on the rollers of said base and having a removable segment, andlocking devices to lock the segment and gear plate to form a ring.

In combination, a runway, a carriage thereon, a roller base carried by said carriage, a gear plate revolving on the rollers of said base and having a removable seg ment, the inner surface of the gear plate being formed with dove-tailed grooves, and flaring grips in said grooves.

6. In combination, a runway, a carriage thereon, a header vertically movable on said carriage, abracket secured to the header, a roller base carried by said bracket, a gear plate revolving on the rollers of said base and having a removable segment, a pinion meshing with said gear plate, a vertical shaft passing through said pinion, and rotating therewith, the pinion being longitudinally movable thereon, and means for rotating said shaft.

7. In combination a runway, a carriage thereon, a header vertically movable on said carriage, a bracket secured to the header, a roller base carried by said bracket, a gear plate revolving on the rollers of said base and having a removable segment, a pinion meshing with said gear plate, a vertical shaft passing through said pinion, and rotating therewith, the pinion being longitudinally movable thereon, and a longitudinally movable horizontal shaft for operating said vertical shaft.

8. In combination a runway, a carriage thereon, a header vertically movable on said carriage, a gear plate revolubly carried by said header and having a removable segment, a pinion meshing with said gear plate, a vertical shaft passing through said pinion, and rotating therewith, the pinion being longitudinally movable thereon, a horizontal shaft, a worm shaft for raising said header, and means whereby said horizontal shaft may be operatively connected either to the pinion shaft or to the worm shaft.

9. In combination a runway, a carriage thereon, a header vertically movable on said carriage, a gear plate revolubly carried by said header and having a removable segment, a pinion meshing with said gear plate, a vertical shaft passing through said pinion, and rotating therewith, the pinion being longitudinally movable thereon, a longitudinally movable horizontal shaft, a worm shaft for raising said header, and means whereby said horizontal shaft may be operatively connected either to the pinion shaft or to the worm shaft.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ROBERT R. POLLAK.

Witnesses FRANCIS M. WRIGHT, G. M. BALL. 

